How screen sharing can improve online meetings

It’s been said that the future of work is remote work. In actuality, it’s happening here and now. Research finds that 54 percent of U.S. workers work remotely at least once a month, 48 percent do it once a week and 30 percent work remotely full-time. As teams move from sharing the same space to working from home, coffee shops, satellite offices, airports and trains, it’s more important than ever to take advantage of tools that make collaborating, communicating and brainstorming on any device, anywhere – simpler than ever.

Video conferencing software, for example, plays a critical role in bringing remote teams together. But that alone isn’t enough. During those online meetings, there’s a powerful, onboarding tool that’s genuinely keeping everyone on the same page – and that’s sharing your screen.

Gone are the days of emailing documents, images or links to websites to be used during meetings. Today, the ability to share your screen in real-time is the determining factor in pulling off a productive, successful meeting, rather than one that’s tedious, confusing and relatively ineffective.

So, how can the screen sharing feature on your software benefit you, while boosting your team’s efficiency and success? Let’s take a closer look at some of the screen-sharing benefits that make online meetings more productive:

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Deepens understanding

Seeing is believing and it’s also a more effective way to convey a thought or idea. It’s no wonder that 66 percent of executives view mobile video and real-time data-sharing as crucial parts of their day-to-day communication. But it has other uses, as well. Consider a training meeting for new employees. Showing all attendees how something works simultaneously, in real-time, is a lot more useful than just talking about it. It enhances communication, provides clear visuals and allows for a step-by-step demonstration.

Some collaborative software allows participants to chat with each other or with the host in a separate window alongside the screen share while a meeting is in progress. For example, one person has a question and doesn’t want to disturb the other attendees, they can send a chat message to another meeting participant or the host, without interrupting the flow of the meeting. This feature helps keep the lines of communication open and the meeting moving.

Keeps everyone focused

Screen sharing can speed things up while making sure everyone is on the same page. Instead of just talking about something—”remember last year when we were doing a similar project for that other client”—you’re instead taking control and showing them what you’re talking about, keeping everyone engaged in what’s happening on their screen.

By maintaining high levels of control, your meetings become quicker, more engaging and more efficient, helping your team achieve more.

Helps teams brainstorm

No matter what kind of business you’re in, garnering fresh ideas and innovative solutions plays an important role in any company’s success. One way to do that is via brainstorming. Screen sharing during an online meeting allows you to bring everyone together to generate new ideas and even collaborate on documents in real-time.

Some software tools even provide a digital whiteboard to scribble on or ways to annotate a document as you’re all looking at it. That means participants can draw, sketch, write and let ideas flow on a shared canvas.

Brainstorming sessions can’t work without good notetaking. It’s essential to have a summary of key takeaways, questions for follow up, next steps and more. The right screen sharing solution will offer simultaneous notetaking as a key feature, making it easy to gather everything in one place.

Turns a meeting into a genuine team effort

Screen sharing doesn’t have to be all about a single person’s presentation (although it can be). In business, it’s all about teamwork. If you want another meeting participant to change a file, help you present, or demonstrate something, you can give control to that person. In addition, some screen sharing tools allow multiple participants to take control and share their screens. This option keeps everyone engaged since team members can all show each other what they’re discussing. And, you can take back control at any time.

Supports remote workers

When you can’t walk through the office to see a coworker’s project, screen sharing makes that possible, whether they’re across the country or the globe.

Remote teams can understand each other’s work a lot better, collaborate more effectively, reduce confusion and take the guesswork out of just about any project.

Some software tools also allow participants to record online meetings, making the screen-sharing aspect that much more helpful. Imagine your meeting involved a complex walkthrough of a process or a new software application. Once it’s recorded, everyone can review it later as needed.

Screen sharing is a highly useful and formidable tool that truly can bring together remote teams like never before. Luckily, even some free conferencing software includes screen sharing as one of its key features, helping to boost your everyday communication process and making productive, successful and efficient meetings a possibility.

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How screen sharing can improve online meetings

Learn how to get the most from Microsoft Teams

Deepens understanding

Keeps everyone focused

Helps teams brainstorm

Turns a meeting into a genuine team effort

Supports remote workers

Get started with Microsoft 365

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